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Mar 18, 2009

I HEART Heat & a New Post @DoTellMel


(If you're interested in my Living La Vida DIVA series, go here for a new post.)
(photo by Linda Charlene.)

I HEART Heat but If You Can't Take The Heat, Then I Have Another "Season"ing For You!

I don't know what it is with me and spicy food but I like it! A friend of mine from back in the college day, paid me a visit a couple of weeks ago.
She reminded me of our "runs to the border" when I would order extra jalapenos on my nachos. She laughed about how I ate with one hand and wiped the sweat beading over my lip with the other. Yeah...that was pretty.

One of our sister-bloggers actually tried my recipe for Chipotle Roast. This was a seasoning idea I came up with when I didn't want to make a run to Publix for my usual ingredients for my crock pot roast.


Then I gave you my favorite Jalapeno Cornbread recipe. Today I share one of my favorite simple dinners. And yes, there is some heat involved. Thanks for asking.




A simple dinner we enjoy is: baked salmon, roasted potatoes and sauteed green beans.


Each dish utilizes this heart healthy oil:


Have I ever told you that I sometimes use evoo to remove my make-up? Does anyone else do this?


Roasted potatoes - Rinse/scrub and either cube or slice them like fries.


Drizzle w/evoo and shake your favorite seasoning on them. I use either an Italian blend by McCormick or Alessi's dipping seasoning. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes depending on the size of your cubes/slices. I always use my Pampered Chef jelly roll pan for this.

Salmon fillets - I like the Atlantic Salmon center cut fillets from Sam's Club. They are flash frozen and vacuumed sealed (6 oz. fillets individually packaged). Thaw them, drizzle with evoo and squeeze fresh lemon juice on each fillet. HERE COMES THE HEAT. I like them seasoned with Tony Chachere's creole seasoning.


But as an alternative to the spicy creole seasoning, you can season them with dill and lay thinly sliced lemons over the top. This is good, too.

Lately I have been using a cedar plank to bake salmon. Here's a cool link to learn about cedar planks.I got mine in the seafood department at the grocery store. I soak it for an hour, pat it dry and oil it lightly with olive oil. I sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top and put it in the oven on a jelly roll pan to heat on its own for 5-10 minutes. Removing the hot plank, I lay the salmon directly on it.
I like to start the potatoes first, then 15 minutes later I have the salmon ready to go into the oven. They both bake up nicely at 375 and are finished at the same time.


Green Beans - I like the Birds Eye whole green beans from the freezer section.

Using my green pan, I add my beans and a little water. This goes on at med - high heat. Stop before they are too soft. I drain any remaining water then add evoo and roasted garlic (about 1 tsp.). Saute til beans are done.

This is where I like to do the chef thing and toss the green beans. Try it. It's fun. Impress your dog! Our pup likes to watch me cook.


Add your favorite rolls or garlic bread. I cut calories by omitting bread when I have potatoes or pasta.

Do you know about the green pan? It's the only non-stick pan I'll use. Do you use a cedar plank? If so, will you share your recipe?

Any other Tony Chachere fans out there?



Another update: I have decided to go beyond my 21 day goal of no sugar, no sweetener. And I haven't had Mr. Chips in 10 days! I've lost 3 pounds. So it's all good! And SWEET!

20 comments:

  1. You are so funny! I had never thoguth about using evoo to remove my eyemakeup with!! These recipes sound "delish" as RR would say! Thanks!

    Hugs,
    Susan

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  2. where can I get a Green Pan? And thanks for the recipes!

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  3. Loved your voice in this post. I love heat too. The hotter the better.

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  5. Love this meal too. You're speaking my love language Tony Chacheries! Love the recommends and the evoo ideas. Really great.

    Cool your daughter's on the tennis team. Oh, I love the pink tennis balls too! The kiddy balls only come in those huge yellow ones. ;)

    And that post about your husband was really sweet.

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  6. Ok i don't think i could eat at your house although all your recipes sound so good....I don't wanna sweat when I eat.

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  7. slip4 - I got my green pan at Linens and Things when they were going out of business. Before that I had not used a non-stick pan for several years.
    There are mixed reviews online for the efficacy of the green pan but I use mine daily and have no complaints. The only other skillets I use are cast iron.

    Mel - "Don't sweat it, girl!"
    I'll make something for you that's tasty and mild. I'll just add a dash of LA Hot Sauce to mine!

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  8. I am going to make this salmon dinner...without the heat. Neither my husband or myself, enjoy "hot" food. The salmon, potatoes and green beans sure do sound delicious. Thanks!

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  9. Judy - Even though I prefer the salmon seasoned with Tony Chachere's creole seasoning, some of my bunch like the dill and lemon just as much. So give that a try.

    Runner Mom - I'm afraid I might give myself a case of "olive-eyetis" if I used it to remove my eye make-up. Actually I use it for the other parts of my face...avoiding the eyes! But maybe I wouldn't need mascara if I used it on my eyes! Ya never know.

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  10. I never heard of cooking on a cedar plank before last weekend. Our pastor's son was telling us that he had eaten pork chops cooked on a cedar plank at a restaurant the night before. What does the cedar do? Can you taste it in the meat? Interesting!

    Marilyn

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  11. I love any kind of fish and potatoes and green beans are a favorite. Yeah on the 3 lbs. I am trying to eat less junk too. B

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  12. We love Tony Cachere!!! I may be naive but what is evoo?

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  13. The dill and lemon seasoning sounds good to me. I like a milder spicy.

    I love that your dog watches you cook. My Tobi just waits for me to call her to give her a bite. She is so spoiled. :)

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  14. Glad I found you! I must check out your Chipoltle Roast, I am totally addicted to ANYTHING chipotle these days! The salmon sounds heavenly, too. Might have to try that when hubby's in town. Thanks for sharing your great recipes. I have desperately been searching for new things to cook.
    ~Misti

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  15. Will you still consider me your friend if I admit to you that I do NOT like spicy, and I REALLY do not like fish??? *bashful grin*
    But I do like green beans and potatoes. Really, I do!

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  16. Thanks for the salmon recipe! I've been trying to get my husband to like it for years - still no luck!

    Also, way to go (with the no sugar)! Keep it up!

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  17. I made way to your site thru the 4 Reluctant Entertainers site. I love trying new recipes and cannot wait to try some of these. As for Tony's spice....oh my... it is one of my favorites. I use it on just about everything and my family loves it!!!

    Thanks for letting me peek at your blog. I really enjoyed it!

    Jamie @ Dear Diary
    www.oktxok.blogspot.com

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  18. You're so cute. Way to go on the no sugar no sweetener thing! Good for you. I did that for 40 days once. It was awesome to stop craving sugar. Wish I would have stayed off it. I need to do that again.

    You recipe sounds yummy...except me not lika the heat so much. I'll have to try it without.

    Oh, and my mother in law uses EVOO as hand lotion.

    Love,
    Sandy

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  19. Hi Melanie, I gave your roast a shout-out today on my blog. My husband's FAVORITE seasoning is Tony Chachere's creole seasoning. We go through that stuff! He's requested your roast again tonight. I'm glad it's easy. I a m not familiar with the Greem Pan. I'll have to check it out - I'm fussy about not using poisoning my food with the wrong pan.

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  20. bring on the tums...these sound DELISH!

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